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By Quaid Najmi
Mumbai, Sep 8 (IANS) Seven years after terrorist Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon was hanged to death in 2015, a major political controversy ignited over the reported 'make-over' of his grave at the Bada Qabrastan in south Mumbai, here on Thursday.


Following an uproar and a political free-for-all among Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe into the matter.

Memon, 53, a CA, was found guilty and convicted for his role in the March 12, 1993 Mumbai blasts, and hanged in Nagpur Central Jail on July 30 (2015) -- his birthdate -- after all his pleas for pardon/clemency up to the President were rejected.

The original earthen grave, where Memon was buried, recently got a face-lift with a gleaming marble grave coming up there, amid flood-lighting -- and apprehensions -- that the terrorist's final resting place would soon become a 'mazar' (mausoluem).

Acting swiftly, the Mumbai Police on Thursday yanked off the lighting arrangements in Bada Qabrastan this morning, as a grave political dogfight erupted among all the major parties for allegedly allowing the revamp there.

NCP's Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said that there cannot be glorification of any terrorist and the beautification of Memon's grave should not be permitted.

Blaming its bete-noire and ex-ally Shiv Sena, BJP Spokesperson Ram Kadam asked why the ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray kept silent when Memon's grave was being converted into a shrine.

"Thackeray was the (then) CM and during his period the grave was turned into a shrine. This is their patriotism and love for Mumbai? Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of Mumbai," Kadam demanded.

Hitting back, Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande dismissed the BJP's allegations and said when Memon was hanged, the BJP government was in power both in the Centre and state -- here Devendra Fadnavis was the CM and also home minister.

"Why did he allow Memon's body to be handed over to his family? What prevented the BJP government in the Centre and state to formulate a policy on how to deal with the mortal remains of terror convicts or other dreaded criminals," Dr. Kayande asked.

Congress Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe said that during the UPA tenure, two dreaded terrorists were hanged but their bodies were secretly disposed off to prevent their graves from becoming a rallying point in future.

While Afzal Guru was executed in February 2013 in the Tihar Jail of Delhi, Pakistani extremist Ajmal Kasab was hanged in Yerawada Central Jail in Pune.

"The BJP -- which was in power then -- deliberately gave Memon's body to the family for elaborate funerals. Their intention is to create communal divide. Even when the Al-Qaeda terrorist Osama Bin Laden was killed by US forces, his body was dumped in the sea," Londhe pointed out.

Several other BJP leaders like Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Ashish Shelar and Kirit Somaiya and Sena leaders like Aditya Thackeray, Ambadas Danve, Arvind Sawant and Kishori Pednekar indulged in the political tussle over the grave revamp.

Thackeray and Pednekar rejected outright the BJP charges saying they are 'mischievous' and intended to malign Uddhav Thackeray's image before the upcoming civic elections.

"The BMC has never given permission. Its role is over after allotting the land. The Bada Qabrastan belongs to a trust. How is the Sena or Thackeray connected with all this," an irate Pednekar demanded.

Needling the Sena further, Shelar sarcastically said the 'Penguin' Sena (a snide reference to Aditya Thackeray-led Yuva Sena) should launch a 'Save Memon Grave' campaign.

Stating that Fadnavis has ordered a probe, Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar slammed the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)'s alleged links with the mafiosi Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and how ex-NCP minister Nawab Malik landed in jail.

Despite repeated attempts by IANS, the Bada Qabrastan trustees were not available for comments on the matter.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 8 (IANS) DMK organising secretary and MP R.S. Bharathi Thursday said that 50 AIADMK legislators were in touch with his party for joining the DMK.

He was responding to the AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami's comment on Wednesday that 10 DMK MLAs, who are fed up with the policies and corporatisation of the party, were willing to join the AIADMK.

Bharati said that 30 district secretaries and two MPs of the AIADMK were also in touch with the DMK leadership.

In an apparent retort to the AIADMK leader, Bharathi asked Palaniswami to reveal the names of the DMK MLAs who were willing to join the AIADMK. He said that once Palaniswami reveals the names of the DMK MLAs who were in discussions with the AIADMK, then he would disclose the names of the AIADMK MLAs who were in touch with the DMK.

To the allegations by Palaniswami that Udayanidhi Stalin, the son of M.K. Stalin, was calling the shots in the DMK, Bharathi said that Udayanidhi was only doing the role of an MLA. He rebuked Palaniswami and asked him as to how late Jayalalithaa brought Sasikala to the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Bharathi said that several AIADMK MLAs, including Palaniswami had "prostrated before Sasikala". Bharathi asked as to what authority Sasikala was calling shots as a de facto Chief Minister during the AIADMK regime.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) After winning gold in 57kg category at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Indian wrestler Ravi Dahiya had already set his sights on the World Championships and winged his way to Russia to begin preparations for his quest for the yellow metal.

Based in Russia since August 18, Dahiya finds himself in peak mental and physical shape to go all the way in the World Championships, beginning in Belgrade from September 10, 2022. And, true to the adage that "A Sportsman's Journey never ends" he is then aiming for a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, which have been postponed and will be held in September 2023.

"My only aim in life as a sports person is to bring laurels to my country and my immediate goals are to win gold medals at the World Championship and the Asian Games," said Dahiya, adding that it would also be the ideal preparation and build-up towards the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Ravi travelled to Russia with his Indian wrestler and coach Arun Kumar and has been training with Russian wrestlers and coaches at the academy in Vladikavkaz, the same place where Olympic Gold medallist from Russia, Zaurbek Sidakov trains. Dahiya has put in some invaluable training time at the academy and is raring to face the upcoming challenges.

The expectations are high from Dahiya as he is expected to better his bronze medal winning performance from the last World Championships in 2019 and also make amends for losing out on the gold in the Tokyo Olympics. Having positioned himself as the premier wrestler in the country, a medal is expected from Ravi every time he steps on to the mat, but this does not put pressure on him, instead motivates him to train harder to live up to the expectations.

"For me, the high expectations of my fans is actually their love and support towards me and only motivates me to do better. There is no pressure on me to perform," said Dahiya.

This confidence stems from the hard work Dahiya has put in, which will be tested to the hilt against the world's top wrestlers when he begins his campaign in the World Championships on September 17.

Jitesh Mehta, co-founder Birbal S&E, the agency that manages Dahiya, said, "Ravi is a National youth icon who embodies champion qualities of high performance, excellence, discipline and trust. He has been in outstanding form since winning a silver at the Olympics, has won a hat-trick of golds and broken major records at the international level. He is focussed on the World Championships and wants to win that ultimate prize for India."


--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 8 (IANS) Seven years after terrorist Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon was hanged to death on his birthday, a political row has suddenly erupted over the purported 'beautification' of his grave at the Bada Qabrastan in south Mumbai, here on Thursday.

Following an uproar, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a probe into the matter, said Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar this afternoon.

Memon, 53, a CA, was found guilty and convicted for his role in the March 12, 1993 Mumbai blasts, and hanged in Nagpur Central Jail on July 30, 2015, after all his pleas for pardon/clemency up to the President were rejected.

The original earthen grave, where Memon was buried, recently got a face-lift with a gleaming marble grave coming up there, amid lighting and apprehensions that the terrorist's final resting place would soon become a 'mazar' (mausoluem).

Earlier in the day, the Mumbai Police yanked off the lighting arrangements in Bada Qabrastan, as a grave political dogfight erupted between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena for allegedly allowing the revamp there.

Blaming its bete-noire and ex-ally, BJP Spokesperson Ram Kadam questioned why the ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray kept silent when Memon's grave was being converted into a shrine.

"Thackeray was the (then) CM and during his period the grave was turned into a shrine... This is their patriotism and love for Mumbai? Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of Mumbai," Kadam demanded.

Hitting back Sena Spokesperson Dr. Manisha Kayande dismissed the BJP's allegations and said when Memon was hanged, the BJP government was in power both in the Centre and state - here Devendra Fadnavis was the CM and also home minister.

"Why did he allow Memon's body to be handed over to his family... What prevented the BJP government in the Centre and State to formulate a policy on how to deal with the mortal remains of terror convicts or other dreaded criminals," Dr. Kayande asked.

Congress Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe said that during the UPA tenure, two dreaded terrorists were hanged but their bodies were secretly disposed off to prevent their graves from becoming a rallying point in future.

While Afzal Guru was executed in February 2013 in the Tihar Jail of New Delhi, Pakistani extremist Ajmal Kasab was hanged in Yerawada Central Jail in Pune.

"The BJP which was in power then, had deliberately given Memon's body to the family for elaborate funeral... Their intention is to create communal divide... Even when the Al-Qaeda terrorist Osama Bin Laden was killed, his body was dumped in the sea...," Londhe pointed out.

Several other BJP leaders like Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Ashish Shelar and Kirit Somaiya and Sena leaders like Aditya Thackeray, Ambadas Danve and Kishori Pednekar indulged in the political slugfest over the grave makeover.

Despite repeated attempts by IANS, the trustees of the Bada Qabrastan were not available for comments on the matter.

Incidentally, besides Memon, the graveyard is also the final resting place of Bollywood legends Suraiya, Mehboob Khan, Nargis Dutt, Ismail Merchant, Shyama, ex-smuggler-turned-politician Haji Mastan and others.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Google has announced to run a pilot test for the local developers to distribute their daily fantasy sports (DFS) and rummy games apps on Play Store in India, as e-sports become big in the country.

Starting September 28, Play Store will begin a limited-time pilot allowing for the distribution of DFS and Rummy apps to users in India by developers incorporated in India.

The Pilot programme will run from September 28, 2022 until September 28, 2023.

"We are constantly exploring ways for local developers to build successful businesses and offer delightful experiences on Google Play. Through this pilot programme, we are taking a measured approach that will help us collate learnings and retain an enjoyable and safe experience for our users," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

Applicants that successfully complete the application process and are accepted to participate in the Pilot programme will be eligible to distribute their apps on Google Play for the duration of the Pilot programme to users in India.

Google said that if you are a DFS and/or Rummy app operator in India with a DFS and/or Rummy app targeting users and are interested in participating in this Pilot programme, "please have an authorised individual complete and submit the application form".

"The Google Play team will use this information to assess participants," said the company.

Google Play developer account noted on the application form must be in compliance with all Play policies to remain eligible to participate in the pilot, it added.

Daily Fantasy Sports or DFS are games in which contestants use their knowledge of athletic events and athletes to select or manage rosters of simulated athletes whose performance directly corresponds with the actual performance of human athletes on sports teams or in sports events.

India has seen a spurt in e-sports, where players like Dream11 and Mobile Premier League (MPL) are now ruling the turf.

Google said that it reserves the right to remove any such app from Play Store if it fails to meet the guidelines.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, Sep 8 (IANS) Former Maoist ideologue and revolutionary balladeer Gaddar is likely to join the Congress party ahead of the next year's Assembly elections in Telangana.

He is believed to have responded positively when Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Bhatti Vikramarka requested him to join the party and play an active role in politics.

The CLP leader also requested Gaddar to join Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'. The revolutionary poet assured him that he would join the yatra once it entered Telangana.

Gaddar called on Vikramarka on Wednesday requesting the party to take up the demand of naming the new Parliament building after Dr. B.R Ambedkar.

Gaddar said he would consider the request of the Congress leader to join the Parliamentary democracy system and also contest the elections.

Another Congress leader Prem Sagar Rao, who was also present during the meeting, urged Gaddar to contest for Parliament from the Peddapalli constituency.

There have been speculations in the political circles about Gaddar's moves after he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in May during the latter's visit to Hyderabad.

The former Maoist sympathizer was understood to have requested Shah to drop cases pending against him in various states.

Gaddar had also hinted at playing an active role in politics before the 2018 Assembly elections.

He had met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and gone on record saying he was ready to contest the elections against Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao as the joint candidate of opposition parties.

Gaddar had said that he did not belong to any party but would support any party to end what he calls 'neo-feudalism' in Telangana. Stating that Telangana state was created with the sacrifices of martyrs, he said the change has not come in the state.

Gaddar's son G.V. Surya Kiran had joined the Congress in 2018. Gaddar too campaigned for the Congress in a few constituencies, he did not contest the elections.

Gummadi Vittal Rao, popularly known as Gaddar, was a revolutionary singer and a sympathiser of Naxalism, right from his days at the Osmania University Engineering College during the Telangana agitation in 1969-70s.

He went underground in the 1980s and founded Jana Natya Mandali, a travelling theatre group. Known for his soulful, melodious folk songs with simple lyrics, Gaddar attracted people, especially youth, towards the Maoist ideology.

The group later became the cultural wing of the CPI(ML) People's War, which merged with Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) in 2004 to form CPI(Maoist).

Gaddar had escaped an assassination bid in 1997. Unidentified men had shot him at his residence on the outskirts of Hyderabad. He had blamed police and then Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for the assassination attempt.

In the first-ever direct talks between then Andhra Pradesh government and People's War in 2004, Gaddar along with revolutionary writers and poets Varavara Rao and Kalyan Rao had acted as emissaries for the Maoists.

During his stint with the Maoist party, Gaddar strongly campaigned against electoral politics and called for a boycott of elections.

In 2017, he gave up Maoism and declared himself Ambedkarite. He announced that he was going to join the political mainstream.

He severed his ties with the Maoists in April 2017 and the same year he enrolled himself as a voter. In 2018, he cast his vote for the first time in his life.

--IANS
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Anita Bose Pfaff
I am gratified to note that a statue of my father Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will be unveiled on September 8 (Thursday) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will occupy pride of place in New Delhi.


My father fought selflessly for the freedom of India. He sacrificed and lost a lot - ultimately his life - in the pursuit of Indian independence. He was a shining example of dedication to the whole of India and all his countrymen and countrywomen. Whether as President of the Indian National Congress or leader of the Provisional Government of Free India and the Indian National Army, he upheld in no uncertain manner communal harmony, Indian unity as well as the emancipation of women and the downtrodden people.

In this celebratory moment for the family and the followers of my father's ideals, when free India is recognising his valour and heroism by installing his statue at a most central and prestigious location in the heart of the Indian capital, I wish to remind Indians that my father's mortal remains are still lying in Tokyo and have not been brought home to India for a final disposal for over 77 years.

He died as a result of a plane crash in Taipei on August 18, 1945. In 2015-16 the Indian Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi declassified all until then not yet declassified Government of India files pertaining to Netaji, thereby making available to the public additional facts regarding his death in Taipei on August 18, 1945. The same government in a reply under the Right to Information Act thereafter confirmed the evidence and record in the files. Such steps should have removed any doubts about what happened to my father and ended the previous controversy once and for all.

However, if the Government of India insists, an authoritative DNA test can be attempted on the remains, even though this is not really necessary in view of the evidence available. Besides, it may not be easy to obtain DNA material from cremated remains.

It was my father's ambition to experience a free India. Tragically his untimely death denied him this wish. I feel his remains should at least touch the soil of India and bring closure to the matter. A closure was denied my late mother Emilie Schenkl - and I hope that it will not be denied to me as well.

Therefore, I appeal to the people of India and to all Indian political parties, to unite in an apolitical and bipartisan manner to bring my father's mortal remains to India.

I should be happy to visit India at the convenience of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as leading persons of the ruling and the opposition parties to discuss facilitating a transfer of my father's remains to India.

(The writer is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's daughter)

--IANS
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By Venkatachari Jagannathan
Chennai, Sep 8 (IANS) With increasing exports, growing domestic market, almost zero imports from China, emergence of mega toy cluster, the Indian toy industry is all set to become the toy maker for the world, said the sector experts.


According to them, a little nudge from the Central government in the form of a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme is the need of the hour which would have a multiplier effect.

"We are shipping toys for global majors. Global toy majors are now looking at India as a steady sourcing point apart from China. India is a huge country and is not limited by space or men unlike many other smaller countries," Rajeev Kaul, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, Aequs Private Ltd told IANS.

"Global toy companies have increased their sourcing from India. Our exports are growing exponentially. We make toys for overseas players and also ship out our own branded toys," R. Jeswant, CEO, Funskool India told IANS.

The Rs 231 crore turnover Funskool earned Rs 145 crore from exports and Rs 86 crore from domestic sales.

"For the current year, we hope to earn Rs 175 crore from exports out of targeted turnover of Rs 275 crore," Jeswant added.

With demand - exports and domestic - increasing Funskool is expanding its production facilities at Ranipet. The company also has a big plant in Goa.

"We are exporting to over 30 countries including the USA and Europe. Ten more overseas markets will be added soon," Jeswant said.

Similarly, Micro Plastics India has announced a new toy facility in Hosur in Tamil Nadu at an outlay of Rs 500 crore.

On its part, Aequs is also putting up a huge facility at Koppal to make toys for the domestic market - for its own brands and for manufacturing toys for others, said officials.

Jeswant said the BJP government's initiatives like increasing the import duty to 66 per cent, compulsory BIS certification of the toy manufacturing units overseas to supply to India has given the needed fillip to the Indian manufacturers.

"It all started with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's radio broadcast 'Maan ki Baat' in 2020, where he expressed his desire to establish India as a global toy hub," Jeswant said.

Industry officials like Kaul and Jeswant said once the volumes pick up, most of the raw materials - paints, plastics and resins- will be available within the country while some of these are imported now.

Aequs has begun digital printing/painting of dolls which increases the output manifold while cutting down waste.

"For the past five years, our focus was on contract manufacturing for global toy makers," Kaul said.

Aequs makes toys for global majors like Hasbro and others.

The group has about 4.5 lakh sq.ft toy production facility at its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi in Karnataka.

Aequs Group is developing a 450 acre mega toy cluster - 60 per cent SEZ and 40 per cent Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) - at Koppal - the area known for Kinnal toys- in Karnataka.

Officials told IANS that the group will have about 6 lakh toy manufacturing facilities at Koppal - 1.4 lakh sq.ft for DTA and about 4.6 lakh sq.ft in SEZ.

According to Aequs officials, the group offers plug-and-play facilities for toy makers. The facilities are built-to-suit the clients.

"In case of needs the group also provides the units with necessary manpower,a Aequs officials said.

The toy cluster also has a 60,000 sq.ft incubation centre for startups.

"The Koppal toy cluster can have about 100 units and provide direct employment for 25,000 persons," an Aequs official told IANS.

The toy cluster has already attracted component maker Viscon Polymers.

Apart from the toy manufacturers, the central government should also include the infrastructure developers under the PLI scheme, an Aequs official added.

In addition to offering manufacturing facilities, the Koppal Toy Cluster will also offer accommodation facilities for workers and office staff.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

--IANS
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Kanyakumari, Sep 8 (IANS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi started walking for 3,570 km-long 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' here on Thursday. He was accompanied by party General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal and others.

The yatra will traverse 12 states and 2 Union Territories while party leader K.C. Venugopal said: "We have not involved the poll-bound states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh."

However, all the party's state organisations will take a separate padyatra in their respective states for one month while all the blocks took out a padyatra on Wednesday.

The party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' will have Gandhi and his companions meeting select group of people from 7 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. everyday while it will be mass connect programme in the evening. All the yatris, including Gandhi, will rest in specialised containers and the end of the day.

Ahead of the yatra, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday has said that this will be turning point of Indian politics and will mark a new beginning.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) BJP National President J.P. Nadda, during a meeting with diplomats from nine countries, has said that the BJP is the only political party in India with strong internal democracy and ideology.

Nadda said that from the booth president to the national president, all are elected through elections in the party and it is the only political organisation which has never compromised on its ideology and principles since its inception.

As part of the fifth phase of the 'Know BJP' initiative, Nadda on Wednesday interacted with the Heads of Missions of nine countries - South Africa, Paraguay, Netherlands, Mexico, Colombia, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Maldives and Mali at the party headquarters.


On the occasion, the BJP chief also made the diplomats aware of the achievements of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the BJP governments working in states.

In the meeting, foreign diplomats were also shown a documentary about the journey of the BJP from 1951, when it was Bharatiya Jana Sangh, till now.

Nadda apprised these mission heads about the working, organisation and ideology of the party and said that the BJP is the largest political party in the world today.

The BJP national president said that the party wants to improve relations with all political parties around the world and this is reason why it started the 'Know the BJP'
initiative.

Describing the work culture of the Modi government, Nadda said that the government has not just worked to transform India in the last eight years but also many countries of the world.

Foreign diplomats, on the occasion, appreciated the Prime Minister Modi's leadership. They also shared several suggestions and advice with Nada for the exchange of ideas and strengthening mutual coordination between political parties.

BJP in-charge of foreign affairs department Vijay Chauthawale, national general secretary Vinod Tawde and national spokesperson Nalin Kohli were also present during the conversation.

On the 42nd foundation day of BJP on April 6, 2022, Nadda launched 'Know BJP' initiative. Under this, the BJP chief so far met with the Heads of Missions of 56 countries including the US and the European Union countries.

--IANS
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